


Stuff My Bear

by Steppe1



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: AU, BB-8 is a child, Build-A-Bear, Eventual Poe Dameron/Finn, F/F, Finn is a smitten employee, Innuendo, M/M, Poe is a dad, Shopping banter, Smutty Jess, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-05
Updated: 2016-04-05
Packaged: 2018-05-31 08:25:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6462991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steppe1/pseuds/Steppe1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finn initially took the job at Build-a-Bear Workshop as a way to help pay the bills.  Three years later he is still there and just as broke as when he started.  </p><p>He's bored and his career is at a standstill... but meeting "Dreamy Dad" on his shift at Build-a-Bear suddenly makes going to work a lot more interesting.</p><p>(Finn and Poe fall in love with each other at a store perfectly suited for innuendo, while Jess and Rey exasperatedly enable them and become a romantically entangled wing-woman team in the process.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stuff My Bear

Finn plasters on a big (fake) smile for his next customer, and reaches deep inside himself for his happy voice. “Hello, welcome to Build-a-Bear Workshop! Have you shopped with us before?”

Finn was spending the morning working at the Stuffing Station, the area of the store that children dragged their parents to when they chose a model of stuffed animal to inflate with overpriced wool. The Stuffing Station was much less fun than it sounded, and was simply a big box full of wool, covered in bright paint and adorned with bear related accessories.

His latest customers were a large family; two parents and several restless children. The dad of the house hands him the skin of their most generic bear. “Hi, would you stuff this bear please?” He asks, ignoring Finn's question.

Finn nods at him, recognising his clipped tone and disinterest in starting a dialogue with him. It's clear that he wants to leave the store as soon as humanly possible (it's expensive, the pop music playing on a loop is a bit overwhelming, and the amount of over-excited children is slightly terrifying). Finn took the little brown bear skin from the man, and holds it to the Stuffing Station's wool-dispensing nozzle “Of course, Sir. How much stuffing would you like in the bear?”

“How much?” Grumpy Dad replies, his voice strained. “It's a just an ordinary bear, right?”

Finn nods again, “Some people prefer their bears softer and prefer them harder. I'll fill it up, and your kids can see how it feels?” He doesn't bother trying to sell him any of their bear “add-ons” as he has a feeling there would be no point trying to make such a hard sale.

Grumpy Dad mutters his thanks, and Finn presses his foot down on a peddle at the base of the machine, wool shooting out of the nozzle to fill the bear. He stops every now and then to ask Grumpy Dad's kids to check the feel of the bear, and eventually manages to give the family their very average stuffed bear to take home with them. He breathes a sigh of relief when they move on, and shares a dark look with Rey after she processes their payment at the customer help-desk

Rey and Finn had both graduated from college together a few years ago, and were working at the Build-a-Bear Workshop on weekends to help pay for their expensive apartment. They were best friends in college, and that had continued to this day, with Finn getting her a shift at the store as a favour.

He stuffs a few more average bears and one or two floppy-eared dogs, and notices he has almost reached the end of the queuing customers at the Stuffing Station. It was about lunch time in the shopping centre he worked in, and most families would have probably gravitated towards the foot court. Finn grins at the last customers, a pretty dark haired mother and daughter. “Good afternoon, welcome to Build-a-Bear Workshop!”

The mother offers a hello in reply, and the daughter beams up at him. “We're just browsing at the moment, waiting for this little one's dad to meet us.” The mother says, ruffling her daughter's hair.

“Please do let me know if I can be of any help.” Finn says with a nod.

“We will!” Daughter replies, full of excitement.

He smiles at her again and with no customers in sight, tidies the area around the  Stuffing Station. Excess strands of wool tended to gather in tumble-weeds on the floor, a result of him leaving his foot on the peddle a bit too long. He quickly sweeps them up with a dustpan and brush, and tips them into a bin. 

Finn settles back into his chair to see if Mother and Daughter have been joined by the father of the family, and feels his jaw drop. Dad had arrived when he was looking away, and he was an absolute  _dream._ Tanned skin, curly dark hair, an obviously fit body beneath his leather jacket and jeans and stunning bone structure... he shakes himself free of every wishful/lusty thought that jumps into his brain.

He shares a disbelieving look with Rey, who raises her eyebrows at him and gives him a thumbs up. He rolls his eyes at her.

The family walk to the  Stuffing Station and Finn smiles at them, his eyes lingering a little bit too long on Dreamy Dad, who gives him a quick appraising look. Finn ignores him as best as he can and addresses Daughter. “Hello again! You found Dad I see?”

Daughter smiles back at him. “We did! Can you stuff my unicorn?” She walks forward and passes Finn a shimmery unicorn skin. Finn is grateful to take it from her so he would have something to do with his hands.

He fixes his eyes on Mother, then Dreamy Dad. “Have you ever shopped at Build-a-Bear Workshop before?” He asks as professionally as possible.

Dreamy Dad shakes his (beautiful) head and Mother smirks at Finn. “Thankfully I've never been inside this hell-hole before, but maybe you could talk me through the process?” Finn senses a kindred spirit in her.

Her daughter looks up at her in horror. “Auntie Jess, you can't speak like that, you'll upset the bears!”

Dreamy Dad nods sagely. “You wouldn't want to upset the bears, Aunt Jess,” he says with half a grin. His eyes meet Finn's, and his face is lit up with humour.

Finn's brain is moving at a mile-a-minute.  _ Auntie  _ Jess? He's vaguely aware that Auntie Jess was apologising to the nearby bears for causing them any un-due distress, when he hears someone say his name sharply. Suddenly, wool is all over the floor and he realises he's prematurely pressed his foot down on the peddle, and a blast of wool had shot out of the nozzle.

Rey must have strolled over from her position at the customer service desk while he was thinking about Dreamy Dad's lack-of-wife. She gives him an inquisitive look, and Finn can only shrug helplessly at her. His eyes flick to Dreamy Dad and she understands what he needs immediately. _Thank God for our best-friend-telepathy_ , Finn thinks to himself.

“I hear it's  _ bad _ when guys shoot their wool too early,” Auntie Jess says with a devious grin at Dreamy Dad. Rey bursts out laughing and smothers her giggles with a nearby stuffed elephant.  
  
Finn glares at Rey's treacherous behaviour and avoids looking at Dreamy Dad completely, his face hot with embarrassment. “Sorry! I must have zoned out for a second there,” he apologises. He looks directly at Daughter. “How much would you like your unicorn to be stuffed?” 

“I want Señor Horn to be soft enough for a hug, but firm enough to be able to stand up on his own,” Daughter decides decisively. Finn nods at her, holds the unicorn to the nozzle and presses his foot down on the  Stuffing Station peddle.

Aunt Jessika grins at Dreamy Dad. “Who wouldn't want horn to be able to stand up on its own?” She says innocently. Daughter's face is confused, while Dreamy Dad is caught somewhere between a smile and a grimace.

Rey laughs loudly behind the elephant toy, and (finally) seems to take pity on Finn. “Excuse me, Miss? Would you and the young lady like to have a look at the accessories over here with me? We have some great bits and pieces Señor Horn might like to wear home!”

Aunt Jessika smiles and agrees, she takes her nieces hand and follows after Rey, who nods at Finn as she passes him. He thanks her with his best-friend-telepathy.

It is now quiet at the  Stuffing Station , and Finn can hear Rey's laughter by the stuffed-animal cosplay section. Finn looks up at Dreamy Dad, whose eyes seem to be on the way Finn's hands are moving the unicorn up and down on the nozzle. “The good news about your daughter picking a unicorn is that there are less outfits the unicorn can fit into.” He says conspiratorially, with a wink.

Dreamy Dad gives him an easy smile, his brown eyes are warm. “So you mean I won't have a Spider-man costume or an Iron Man costume for Señor Horn?” He asks, leaning casually on the Stuffing Station.

Finn shakes his head, eyes on his. “Unfortunately not. But on the downside, if your little girl wants Señor Horn to be a tap dancer, you'll have to buy two pairs of tap-dancing shoes.”

Dreamy Dad laughs at him, probably for a little bit  _ too  _ long. “I guess I'll have to hope that Señor Horn takes up a hobby that requires less accessories.” His smile is wide, showing lots of pearly white teeth. Finn swoons a tiny bit inside.

Finn notices that Señor Horn is getting quite full, and looks around to see if Daughter is nearby to test it. She isn't. He clears his throat. “D'you... wanna squeeze it?” Suddenly no other words are coming out of his mouth, and Finn hates himself.

Dreamy Dad's pretty brown eyes widen to a ridiculous degree, and Finn doesn't blame him. “Squ-squeeze Horn! The unicorn I mean,” he stutters hastily. Dreamy Dad barks with laughter and Finn laughs uneasily, scolding himself internally.

“Yeah... I'll squeeze Señor Horn.” Dreamy Dad leans forward and squeezes Señor Horn's belly gently, warm fingers brushing against his Finn's. “It feels good.”  
  
Finn nods, his mouth dry. He clears his throat and pulls Señor Horn away from the nozzle. “D'you think your daughter would like to have a heart in Señor Horn?” He asks, and has no idea why he is still talking about stuffed animals.

Dreamy Dad's handsome face makes an inquisitive look, and Finn points at the little basket on a side table filled with little red hearts. “The kids make a wish and I put it in the bear.” Finn adds slowly, feeling dumber and dumber with each moment.

Dreamy Dad picks up one of the red hearts, and gives Finn a considering look. His eyes on Finn's, he brings the heart to his lips, and gently presses a kiss to it. He hands it to Finn who doesn't say a word, and presses it slowly into the Señor Horn's back. He averts his eyes from Dreamy Dad and ties up the unicorn's back quickly, trying to build up the courage to ask him one of the many questions he has in his mind.  _ What's your name? Are you single? Would you grow old with me? _

“Daddy! I have these dresses and shoes for Señor Horn!” Daughter squeals gleefully, and Finn thrusts Señor Horn into Dreamy Dad's hands as if it were on fire. Whatever “moment” they just shared is now officially gone.

“Did you Bee-bee?” Dreamy Dad smiles faintly at Finn and turns his full attention to his daughter. He inspects the shoes carefully, and hums thoughtfully. “So Señor Horn wears Wonder Woman boots, a leather jacket and a tutu?”

The daughter, now re-labelled in Finn's head as 'Bee-bee' nods furiously. “Of course! The boots are for when he has to kick butt, and the tutu is for when he moonlights as a ballet dancer.”

“I can't really fault her reasoning.” Finn says, pretending to give it serious thought. Bee-bee beams at him and they share a high five. He decides then and there that Bee-bee is his all-time favourite child customer.  
  
“We got everything?” Aunt Jessika asks as she and Ray re-approach the Stuffing Station.

Dreamy Dad gives Finn a look that makes him melt into a puddle, and nods back at her. “Yeah, this gentleman very kindly stuffed Señor Horn while you were away.”

Rey steps forward again and gestures with her hands to a bunch of computers at the other side of the store. “Now your unicorn is stuffed, please do register it on the computer over there. It gives you a birth certificate and assigns your stuffed animal a unique code in case you ever lose it. Once that's done, you can make your final payment with me at the service desk at the front of the shop.”

Finn waves goodbye to Bee-bee and Aunt Jessika, and Dreamy Dad starts to follow them. He turns back to Finn and bites his lip, clearly thinking something through in his head. “Thank you for your help...” he stops, waiting for Finn to fill in the gap.

“Finn,” Finn supplies with a smile. He reaches his hand out to shake Dreamy Dad's, and feels calloused fingers briefly brush against his palm. They share a firm handshake that goes on a bit too long and Dreamy Dad step backs from him quickly, running his hands through his hair. Finn's eyes follow the long tanned fingers slipping through his dark curly locks, noticing that it doesn't make his hair any neater. _Nervous habit?_ Finn thinks to himself.

Dreamy Dad gives him one last smile, and heads over to Aunt Jess and Bee-bee. Finn pretends not to watch them from the Stuffing Station, and smiles to himself as Dreamy Dad and Bee-bee dress Señor Horn in its outfit. A new family asks for his help and he loses track of the Dad, Bee-bee and Aunt Jess while he goes through the standard questions for their stuffed monkey (aptly named Captain Bananas). He pushes the nozzle into the monkey's back, and moves it up and down gently to ensure the wool is evenly spread into it and his eyes meet Dreamy Dad's one last time. He's by the exit now, Build-a-Bear Workshop bag in one hand, Bee-bee's hand in the other.

Dreamy Dad raises his eyebrows at him, and Finn knows his eyes are on his hand movements. Finn grins back at him weakly and Dreamy Dad gives him a wink, heading out of the store with his family.

Finn feels himself die a little inside. He never got his name.

**Author's Note:**

> And there we have it! Both my first Force Awakens fic, and first fic published on this site.
> 
> As you can see this is an AU, and possibly the first of its kind. I can't imagine anyone else thought up a story based around Finn, Poe and filthy innuendos in a Build-a-Bear setting? There might be a reason for that.
> 
> Let me know your thoughts on this. I have plans to continue on, and would appreciate any feedback or guidance.


End file.
